Scientists have, for the
first time, radio-tagged the Indian pangolin, an endangered animal, that
is rarely sighted in forests here.
The Indian pangolin, which
resembles an ant-eater but dons a thick scaly skin, is hunted for meat and
use in traditional Chinese medicine
Researchers say tagging the
animal will help understand the habits of the reclusive, nocturnal animal.
Radio-tagging involves
attaching a transmitter to an animal to monitor its movements. Several
wild animals — tigers, leopards and migratory birds — have been tagged
over decades.
Pangolins are among the most
trafficked wildlife species in the world.
The International Union for
the Conservation of Nature says these toothless animals have seen a rapid
reduction in population.
The projected population
declines range from 50% to 80 % across the genus.
Out of the eight species of
pangolin, the Indian Pangolin and the Chinese Pangolin are found in India.
Both these species are listed
under Schedule I Part I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
World Pangolin Day,
celebrated on the third Saturday in February, is an international attempt
to raise awareness of pangolins and bring together stakeholders to help
protect these unique species from extinction.
The International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD) has said that climate change would push
100 million people into the abyss of poverty by 2030. Close to half of
these would be due to climate change’s impacts on agriculture.
Global development and
government representatives from across the world made an appeal to
urgently spend more on rural development to avoid a catastrophic situation
arising out of the climate emergency during IFAD’s 43rd Governing Council
meeting in Rome
In 2018, 90 per cent of 17.2
million people displaced by disasters were due to weather and
climate-related events.
“Conflict stops agricultural
production and stops millions of people lifting themselves out of poverty
Rising prices of food items,
particularly that of vegetables, have spiked retail inflation to a
68-month high of 7.59 per cent in January 2020, according to the National
Statistical Office
Extreme weather events have
led to crop damages, leading to a collapse in the supply of vegetables at
a time of the year when they usually flood the markets.
Unseasonal rains and other
weather events continue to disrupt the normal crop cycle and also crop
yield. Since last year’s monsoon, at least 12 states have recorded longer
spells of rains, spreading into the winter monsoon cycle of
October-December.
A longer summer monsoon
delayed sowing and harvesting. But it also raised the hope that higher
moisture level would lead to higher Rabi crop yields.
But during the winter monsoon
— the primary season for vegetable crops — unusually high rainfall days
were reported from across the country.
It caused damages to standing
crops.
According to Oxfam, there
would be a 107 per cent increase in the price of processed rice by 2030
due to extreme weather events.
